MERRY CHRISTMAS AND BEST WISHES FOR A BETTER 2010! Welcome to the December 2009 Edition of Cyber News, an ad free, spam free online magazine emanating from Stanley's Studio in Phoenix, Arizona. In Cyber News we'll try to pass along some useful tips and information about your computer, the Internet, computer products, digital photography, other related topics, and some stuff that's not related at all. If just one thing you read here can help you in your computing life then it's all worthwhile. Later this month most of us will celebrate the birth of Christ. It's a time for family, friends, gala festivities, and preparation for a new year. May your holiday season be one of blessings and happiness! If you believe in Christmas then you will enjoy three young Christian men who call themselves "Go Fish." Enjoy their Christmas song! Preparation for a new year requires reflection. Take a look back over the past year and pick out the highlights. Bring back those memories and savor them. After reliving those moments, think quickly of negative experiences, but don't dwell on them. Ask yourself how those negatives can be circumnavigated in the future. Make a list of how you can improve your life in 2010. Always aspire to stepping up to the next level. Everything starts with action. One of my all time favorite motivators is "Get into Action, Make it Happen, Do it Now!"
Whether purchasing a new computer with Windows 7 or converting your old machine you will need to install your applications. An easy way to do that is by visiting www.ninite.com. There you will find many popular programs all in one place. You check the ones you want to download and install. and it's a one button operation. For years I have advocated the use of AVG as an anti-virus program, CCleaner for cleaning up dead files, and Ad-aware to delete spyware. The latest version of Ad-aware is fully automatic, meaning that you don't have to do manual scans. It protects you 24/7 from spyware and malware programs getting into your computer. An alternative or in addition to Ad-aware is an excellent program called Malwarebytes. It is less than 4MB compared to over 73MB for Ad-aware. It's a fast install, user friendly, fast performing, and also FREE, but of course you will have to do manual scans as you did before with the old Ad-aware. Malwarebytes can be found here. I have completely revised the System Maintenance Page with even more details on how to download, install, and use the above programs. Even with proper system maintenance there may be a time when you are just plain stumped with a problem. Ever called tech support? Not a pleasant experience to say the least. Here's a guy named Tim Hawkins who just may have your answer! Here's a tip that I've thrown out before, but always worth repeating. If you use Outlook Express as your email client then you must perform a regular maintenance chore. If you don't do this OE will slow up, and could quit altogether. Once a month do some house cleaning on your mailboxes and when you're finished click on File/Folders/Compact All Folders. When that is completed run CCleaner.
Want to view an Internet page or a Word document in larger format? Simply hold down the CTRL key and scroll your mouse wheel. If you don't have a mouse wheel, hold down the CTRL key while tapping the + or - keys. Give it a try. Facebook users beware. Just a word of caution on how you use this social network. Use common sense in things like posting that you are going on vacation. More people can view this information than you think and house burglaries have resulted from this mistake. Another caution is playing Facebook games. More on this from Time Magazine. Here are more tips on how to make your information more private on Facebook from CNN. The Internet is tracking you! You would probably be very surprised to see what personal information the internet has stored about you. Just another reason to be cautious about how much information you want to divulge on sites like Facebook. Another example is Google, especially if you have a gmail account. Last month Google released "Dashboard," that lets you see and control data that they have collected about you. Read all about it here.
The latest rage in technology is called "Augmented Reality." Wikipedia gives the definition as: "Augmented reality (AR) is a term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are merged with (or augmented by) virtual computer generated imagery - creating a mixed reality." Watch this video explaining augmented reality from CNN. Ah, but of course I have this too on my Iphone! This could be your next laptop and you sure can call this "futuristic!" Who knows what the future of technology holds for us. Even the next few years we'll have plenty of surprises, but the future is here now with this new laptop! The movie 2012 came out last month with some pretty amazing special effects. Lots of effects in movies are computer generated, but take a look at what they had to engineer and build to add to the reality of this movie! Take a trip back into history by looking at this photo. Move your cursor around the picture and stop on an individual to find out who he or she is. Very interesting.
Check out my photos that I've taken from around the world. You'll find over 1,100 pictures in 38 different galleries. Check out my driving skills on one of the photos. We have had thousands of views on our Photo Site, thanks in part to Cyber News readers! Photography is fascinating and even more so if it is specialized. An example of this is a recent study of how a water droplet reacts when hitting the surface. Watch this short video in ultra-slow motion that shows what happens. Join Paul Nicklen, a National Geographic photographer, as he comes face to face with one of the Arctic's most vicious predators! From predators to the best of friends. Watch this heartwarming video of two of the most unlikely to become buddies. Check out my Blog. There you will find thoughts on many subjects and occasionally find supplements to Cyber News such as Virus alerts or other computer information that I think might be important to you. Blog Are
your favorites, data files, music, photos and address book, backed
up? Don't be sorry! Step by step procedures can
be found on my revised System
Maintenance Page. Remember you can read previous editions of Cyber News by clicking on the links at the bottom of this page. You can also search previous editions of Cyber News by typing key words into the search box. If you would like to be added to our mailing list (absolutely not shared with anyone) just click here. You will be notified when each new edition is posted. Since spam filters seem to be getting stricter our notification may end up in your spam folder, so be sure to check that occasionally for any important email that may have ended up there. Cyber News is a permanent web site, so you can put it in your "Favorites" and refer to it anytime. Secrets of Safe Computing are outlined below. Please don't ignore them. Read each point and be sure to follow the advice as outlined in System Maintenance. Just a few minutes of work each month will go a long way in keeping your computer running smoothly. Thought for today: Thank you all the brave men and women who are serving our Country, especially during this holiday season! "Live life with passion, in a constant state of joy, and with an attitude of gratitude!"
Disclaimer: The information presented in Cyber News is researched and is believed to be accurate. We cannot guarantee that all the information will work on your particular combination of hardware, software and user skills. All information herein is offered as-is and without warranty of any kind. Neither Stanley Computing nor its contributors are responsible for any loss, injury, or damage, direct or consequential, resulting from your choosing to use any information presented on this web site. |
A
simple computer maintenance tip, that is more than likely overlooked
by most people, is to clean out the dust from inside your machine.
This should be done once a year and is easily accomplished by removing
the side on the tower case, taking the unit outside and spraying the
inside with a can of compressed air. Heat is an enemy of
electronic components and the more dust that has collected, the hotter
these components will get. Inside your computer you will find
cooling fans that especially need to be sprayed. On the back of
the tower at the top you should see the power supply fan that also needs
to be sprayed. Occasionally spray your keyboard so as to get rid
of dust and dirt that has accumulated under the keys. You won't be
able to get inside of a laptop, but you can spray the keyboard and you
should find a fan on the bottom that you can spray. If your computer is
located inside a desk it is highly recommended that you leave the door
open while the machine is running for better air circulation.
Many
of us love to go to the movies. I have mentioned my new Iphone three
months in a row now, but I just can't stop talking about it! One of the latest apps I downloaded allows me to
watch movie trailers. If I like what I see it will show me the
closest theater, directions to get there, telephone number, and even let
me purchase tickets on the phone. This works no matter what city
you're in. Now let's see, how can I get popcorn and a coke for
less then $20?
Photo
Tip of the Month: The days of taking photos to the drug store
for development are almost over. Digital photos are the thing now
and our hard drives are full of them. The big question? Is
that the only place they reside? If you don't have an external
hard drive for back up, at least purchase a flash drive and copy
them. This is a simple procedure using copy and paste. Don't
take a chance of losing all your irreplaceable pictures!
If
you think a friend or family member would enjoy Cyber News, don't
hesitate to let them know about it. An easy way to do this is to
right click on the web address in the address window of your browser and
choose copy. Open your email program and a new email.
Address it, and in the body of the message right click and choose paste.
That creates a link and when your friend receives the email he or she
simply clicks on the link and it will take them directly to Cyber News. Of
course you can do that with any web page.
